The Vampire Diaries Fan-Fic: Eternal Flame
by BobbieRenee
Summary: Rosalina Moore set out in the year 1492 to seek revenge against Katerina Petrova, aka Katherine Pierce. Rosalina, or Rose for short, has been on the hunt for nearly 500 years. But why has it taken her so long to finally find her? Who will help her? Will she ever see her love again? Or will all of her hunting have been in vain?
1. Chapter 1

**1013A.D.**

"I will show you the ever-changing world," he whispered in my ear. "It can all be yours...If...You just...Let me...Bite..."

I felt his hand trail up my waist, the other gently on my shoulder. My heart was pounding; and I knew he could hear it, feel it, _taste _it.

"How do I know you won't kill me?" Flutters in my stomach. I had responsibilities. I had children. I had a husband. A small farm. But it wasn't what I wanted. I yearned for adventure, love, passion, places beyond my farm and church. All of this promised to me by this man. A man who claimed to have looked the same for the past century. A man with the strength and speed of God. A man who only needed to feed on blood.

"Darling, I _am _going to kill you!" He laughed softly from behind me, pressing his cold body against mine. "I am just going to bring you back from Heaven, and you'll never have to die again!"

He turned me around to face him, desperation in his eyes. "Please! Be with me. I can't bear the thought of going on without you, Rose..." His dark brown eyes were pleading, compelling.

I trusted him.

"And I you," I turned back around and took a hard look at the woods surrounding us, then my gaze shot up to the moon and the stars. Calm washed over me and I drew myself up with all the dignity I possessed. "Do it."

Next came the razor sharp teeth piercing the flesh of my neck, the familiar feeling of blood draining from me. Then his bloody wrist was before me. I pressed his wrist to my lips and drank his sweet blood. From deep within I felt the vampire craving being unleashed.

Then a pleasant feeling began sweeping over me. I was dying. Everything began to fade and then I was gone.

I was swimming in blackness, the sounds of the Universe around me. filling my ears. The nothingness was starting to fade. I could feel my heart slowly pumping his blood through my veins, steadily picking up speed. Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation flash through my hand and a rage shot through me like I had never felt before. How I hated to feel physical pain. My eyes flung open and I looked down at my burning hand. The vervain he had given me was clutched in my fist and I realized I had forgotten to drop it as he was draining my life from my veins. I flung the vervain from my hand and watched, mesmerized, as the flesh began healing itself. The burns disappeared and it was as though it had never been burned.

"Its fascinating, isn't it?" He said kneeling down next to me. I looked around. We were still in the woods, the moon was setting, and our fire had died down to burning embers.

"I'm...I'm like you now! It worked!" I sat up, amazed by my transformation. Even under the setting moon, I could see every detail of everything for miles around. I looked up at him, he looked more beautiful than I had ever seen him. I reached out and touched his face. His skin was far smoother than it had been before. His eyes were as piercing as ever.

"Well of course it worked," he placed his fingers beneath my chin and pulled my face close to his and kissed me. I felt the sensation of his kiss wash throughout me. I kissed him back, steady at first but then a frenzy took over me and I found myself pushing him towards the ground.

"Whoa, whoa, love," he stopped kissing me, smiled, and gently pulled me away from him. "We now have eternity for love making. But first, you must feed."


	2. Chapter 2

**2013AD**

"Its okay, darling, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Leave me alone!" my latest prey screamed into the cold night. I had her cornered in a dark alley, yet she couldn't see me. Not yet. I took in her sweaty, heart shaped face, her plump lips, thin waist, her round, supple breasts. She was a treat and it was a shame she believed I was going to hurt her. No. I would never do that.

"Darling, its a shame you won't listen to me," I leapt from the roof of the building I had been perched on, ran at her and then slammed her hard into the fence behind her. She let out a crumpled scream. "Now you've left me no choice. I have to hurt you."

Sobs laced in with her screams. "Please, let me go! I won't tell anyone! I'll keep to myself! Just let me go!"

"Of course you won't, sweetie," I said kindly as I knelt down beside her. "Because once I'm through with you, you won't have anyone to tell. You'll be forced to stay away from your friends and family. Or else you will hurt them."

I bit into my wrist and her screams became louder. I grabbed the back of her head and forced her lips to my wrist. "Oh, darling, you are so much prettier when you just shut up. Now drink!"

The girls rigid body went limp as my blood filled her veins. It was hard for any human to resist the taste of a vampire's blood. Once I felt she had had enough I bit into her neck. She let out a soft moan, a sign of defeat as I drained her. Once I had my fill I snapped her neck.

"Rest in peace, darling," I said letting her slump to the ground. I stood up and walked away, leaving there on her own.

I hoped she could find herself a talented witch. Night Walkers were annoying.

That was how I hunted. The only way I could walk away from a kill was if I could give them life in return. It may not have been the life they dreamed of, but they now had an eternity to live whatever life they wanted. If they chose to survive. I never stayed to help them, I didn't seek my victims out, I simply forgot about them. Once I snapped their necks, they weren't my problem anymore.

It hadn't been the way I was taught. But I didn't fancy pets and having lived for a thousand years, I found it was the only way I felt comfortable taking the lives of humans. Occasionally, I would run into my victims. I never recognized them, but they always knew me. Even if the last time they saw me was when I snapped their necks two hundred years prior. I don't think you can easily forget the face of your killer.

My mood turned sour. I had let come to mind the face of my killer...My lover. I had spent the last five hundred some years in anger. We had had four hundred and eighty years of bliss. Almost every moment, we spent together. We had even broke from his family for a while, just to be on our own. And when we returned, everything changed. A Katarina Petrova had been the guest of honour at a birthday ball. She had been at the castle for a while, and I noticed more and more my love was taken with her. I hated her and I vowed to kill her. But then she had the nerve to drink the blood of a vampire and run. At first I had hoped she died, unable to feed. But then I heard rumors of her around and I fled after her. She had left my love distraught and I hated every second he mourned for her, my anger steadily turning into rage. I had spent the past five hundred hers tracking her down, raging when all signs of her were lost. But now I knew where she was. Wreaking havoc on the poor civilians of Mystic Falls.

How I desired to tear her limb from limb, to steak her in her heart, and set fire to her. Tonight it would happen. Tonight Katarina Petrova would be no more. Tonight I will be able to return to my love, his distraction no more.

I arrived at Mystic Falls at about seven that morning. It was surprisingly bustling with life despite how small of a town it seemed. I remembered hearing from another vampire associated with Katarina (Now going by Katherine) that she couldn't resist the young humans, so I decided to first scope out the school.

All of Mystic Falls high was outside, clumped in small groups waiting for the bells to ring. I reflected how my original village didn't have as many people as this high school alone seemed to have. I chuckled at this thought. Then I started scanning the crowd. There! There she is! On the arm of some poor, handsome teenage human. Rage raced through my veins and I took one step then realized I was almost a foot from her. It would be dangerous if I exposed her and myself in front of all these humans so I slowed down. I walked calmly towards her and put on my biggest, kindest smile.

"Katherine?" I said to her.

She looked at me confused. "Sorry, I'm not Katherine. I'm Elana."

Her boy toy took a defensive step in front of her, his nostrils flared. I ignored him.

"My apologies, then," I continued smiling. "You just look so much like an old friend of mine."

I made a show of nervously looking around, and then extended my hand towards her. "My name is Rose. Rosaline Moore. I'm new here!"

Elena's expression turned friendly as she shook my hand. "I'm Elana Gilbert and this is my boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore."

Stefan held out his hand, I took it. As my hand closed on his, I froze. His hand was as cold and dead as mine! Vampire! Looking into his eyes, I knew he understood what I was as well.

"Nice to meet you," I said tensely.

"Welcome to Mystic Falls," his voice was just as tense as mine.

"Thank you," i smiled at Elana.

"Elana, I think Caroline is over by the parking lot waving at you, you should go see what she wants." Stefan looked over at the parking lot towards a blond human Barbie, who, indeed, was waving frantically at Elana.

"Alright," she turned towards me. "It was nice meeting you, Rose. Stefan can show you around if you'd like." Then she sauntered off towards her friend without waiting for my goodbyes. I could tell she was going to talk about this strange, intense encounter between her boyfriend and some new girl. If I were human, I knew I'd pity her. But, then again, if I were human, I'd have been dead long ago.

I looked back at Stefan. "Well, then. Shall you show me around?" I smiled, making sure he saw my fangs.

"Certainly," he said heading towards the school, pulling out his phone. I wanted to laugh. I always thought it was strange to see a vampire using a mobile device.

I followed Stefan into the school. Then he turned on me and shoved me fiercly into the lockers. I looked at him and sighed.

"We're really going to play like that?" I dropped my purse then ran in front of him, grabbed him by his arm and flung him into the lockers opposite me. Then I took the same arm and twisted him so his body faced the lockers he crushed and I continued pulling his arm up behind his back, letting every bone crack several times.

I leaned into him and hissed in his ear. "You might want to know, I'm a thousand years old, child, and I could tear you apart faster than you can blink. So I suggest you play nice." I released him and stepped away from him.

He turned to face me.

"Now, what do you know of Katarina Petrova?" I asked. "You seemed to really tense up when I mentioned her to your little pet."

"Elana isn't my pet," Stefan's nostrils flared.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, your _girlfriend_. But I'm not here to talk of a human. I want to know about her twin vampire. Where is she?"

"What do you want with her?" He asked, crossing his arms and tilting his chin up. He was assessing me.

I mimicked his motions, not that there was anything to assess. "What does anyone want with Katarina?"

"What did she do?" I saw the corner of Stefan's lip twitch up as if he wanted to smile.

"Oh, the usual. Flirted with the man I love, turned into a vampire, then fled," I lifted my hand and pretended to study my nails. Then I looked Stefan in the eyes. His eyes were wide.

"You knew Katherine when she was human?" he asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately," I dropped my hand. It seemed the scope of a thousand years was dawning on him. He must be young. "What did she do to you?"

He looked away. "Before she burned to death," he paused to see this information sink in, "She changed my brother and I."

"She's dead?!" I reached out and punched a few lockers, breaking them from their hinges. "That bitch!"

I turned back to Stefan, working hard to contain my anger. His face was sympathetic. Then something clicked. "That's why you're with Elana!"

"What?"

"Why would Katarina turn anyone she didn't love? She broke your heart, and now you're desperate for her, so you date her doppleganger!"

"No, its not like that! Katherine means nothing," the young vampire started, "Elana is not Katherine."

"But she will be, as soon as you change her," I said. "She will _be_ Katarina."

Stefan didn't say anything, just averted his eyes. I understood.

"She doesn't know anything about you being a vampire."

"No," he said quietly.

"Well, then, I guess we should go tell her," I smiled at Stefan and turned around, only to bump into someone.

I looked up. The person I bumped into looked slightly like Stefan, but older. His black hair was longer and untidy compared to his brother's, but fell neatly over his eyebrows. He was a few inches taller than I was. This man carried himself with an arrogance, that I'm sure had no boundaries. Not that vampires aren't arrogant. But for the most part, young vampires kept their arrogance at bay around vampires much older and much stronger than them. I could sense that this man before was not most vampires.

"We're not telling Elana anything," he said, and I could hear the arrogance in his voice.

Again, I rolled my eyes. "Mr. Salvatore, please step aside, I have business to attend to." I went to move around him but he slammed me hard into the lockers. This one was stronger, but not nearly strong enough to take me. Before I could react he was pressed against me and hissing quietly in my ear.

"She's not dead. I can help you, but you must be quiet!"

"What?" I hissed, my eyes darting to Stefan who was on the defensive.

"Just throw me and go," he hissed.

So I did. I picked him up by his neck and threw him into Stefan, crashing them both down the hallway.

"Before I leave, Mr. Salvatore," I said stepping over them, "What was your name again?"

"Damon," he said, the two of the Salvatore brothers standing up.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled, flashing my teeth, then turned and ran out of the building. I felt them on my tail, but I was faster and reached Elana first.

"Elana!" I said smiling at the two, then at her.

"Hi, Rose, did Stefan show you around?" She walked up to me.

"I actually have something to confess," I said loudly. I looked at Damon and Stefan then leaned in close to Elana, making sure I had her attention. "Stefan and Damon Salvatore are vampires, Elana. From now on you will notice strange, supernatural things about them, you'll piece it together, but you will forget I told you anything. Are we clear?"

Her face was dazed. "I will find out what Damon and Stefan are."

"That's the spirit, now get investigating!" I clapped her shoulder to end the compulsion then waited for her to come out of the daze. Humans were so slow.

"So what was it that you wanted, Rose?" she asked smiling kindly up at me.

"I was wondering if you could help me find the guidance office so I could get registered," I smiled. "I know Stefan was supposed to show me, but it appears his brother has dragged him off somewhere."

"Oh, that's always happening. Ever since Damon came into town," she rolled her eyes. "Of course I will show you!"

I followed Elana into the school, who talked on and on about everything the school had to offer, all the teams, the activities, the clubs. "There's a Halloween dance in two weeks, you should go! I have a spare vampire costume you could use if you'd like."

I couldn't help but to laugh at the irony of my going to the Halloween danced dressed as a vampire.

"I'll think about it," I smiled. "I just want to see how these two weeks go. I move around a lot, but I always get anxious for each new move, so we'll see."

"Oh, what do your parents do?" she asked.

"They like to travel and kind of just drop me off in areas next to where they're staying, they don't want me missing out on public school!" I let out a fake nervous laugh. A thousand years makes it so easy to lie.

"Ah, I'm sorry," she gave me an apologetic look.

I gave a shrug and said: "Its okay, so used to it."

"Well, this is the guidance office," she said as we rounded the corner. I looked to see a small office, the door with plain black text on the window: **GUIDANCE OFFICE**.

"It would seem so. Thanks, Elana." I gave her a hug and darted into the office.

Once in the office I saw a desk in the middle. A young woman sat clicking away at the keys of her keyboard, her eyes glued to the monitor before her. The plaque on her desk read "MS SANDERS".

"Um, hello?" I asked quietly,

The woman looked up. "Oh, hello, dear! How can I help you?" She stopped clicking at her keys and stood up.

"My name is Rosalina Moore and I'm looking to register for my senior year," I said pretending to be shy.

"Ah, okay!" Ms. Sanders said cheerily. "My name is Ms. Sanders; I can help you with that. I will just need a copy of your transcript from your previous school, a letter of consent from your parents or guardians, and a copy of your shot records; and then I can get you registered. You'll be able to start next Monday."

Suddenly I was from the middle of the room to the front of her desk. She jumped with a start and I bent down, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt. "Okay, Ms. Sanders. My parents have been dead for over a thousand years, they died when I was still human! Ha. Let's see, there are no transcripts, you will just put that information in yourself. Write how I excel in everything, I mean, let's face it, I'm far more intelligent than your teachers. And as for my medical records? Let's just say I am far more healthier than you could ever hope to be. just copy a student's and put my information in, which I will happily oblige to you. Also, I am not waiting a whole week to start school. I have things to do, people to kill. You will also copy another student's schedule, put my name on it, and let me on my way before first bell rings. To make it easy, give me the schedule of the last transfer student. Now, you will forget I ever revealed to you what I am."

The frightened look on Ms. Sanders's face slowly disappeared and she smiled up at me. "Certainly, Ms. Moore, I hadn't realized how readily equipped you were, forgive me!" And then she stood up and disappeared behind a closed door, presumably where the printer was.

I looked around and found a chair to sit in. While I waited, my mind wandered to Damon Salvatore. What help could he possibly lend me? How did he know Katarina wasn't dead when Stefan was obviously convinced otherwise? What did he know? And _why_ would he want to help me? There must be something he wanted in return, vampires didn't just offer help without any expectations of a returned favour. Then I thought of my love. How he only wanted everyone, vampire or human, to just keep their word. I felt a pang in my heart and immediately closed my mind to thoughts of him. It wouldn't do to think of him when I had no clue where he was.

As I waited, I pondered Damon's possible motives. I decided that he wasn't exclusively interested in older women, a vampire with his looks could get any woman; vampire or human. Then I thought of how _both_ Salvatore brothers were vampires. I hadn't come across many vampires who had actual blood relatives still living. Katarina must be tied to both of them, she did after all change them.

Then I was thinking of how different Damon and Stefan had revealed themselves to be in those few minutes I had just met them. Stefan observed carefully, Damon had seen and heard me for probably thirty seconds before he told me I wasn't telling Elana what they were. Of course he was relying on the information Stefan obviously had given him in text message, but he didn't take me in with his own eyes. Not as Stefan did. But I knew Damon wasn't revealing himself, the only thing i gathered from him was his arrogance, and that he probably manipulated a lot of people. Stefan on the other hand, was an open book. However composed he might think he was, that careful composure gave away everything. He could be vulnerable. Damon was closed off not because of conscious effort, but because that was how he had always been as a vampire.

I wanted to break through.

Then I was reflecting on how taken with me my lover had been over a thousand years ago. I had been so flattered, a traveler who happened to spot me on my farm at the right moment. The sun was setting, and he claimed he was in need of rest. Later I would learn that he had planned on draining me of my blood.

My mind flashed one thousand years:

_"But I couldn't, not when I came closer. Saw how the sun was shining in your long, red locks," he had smiled at me on one of the last evenings I'd enjoy as human. "Little did I know you'd capture my heart when you first spoke."_

_ "And what did I say?" I asked, pretending not to remember._

_ He smiled again. "You said 'Sir, you look like you have just come from a battle! I will provide you with food and a place to sleep, if you tell me of your adventure!' Your face was eager, I had never seen a human so eager to know what lay beyond their own property. I knew then I needed to keep you alive. And I fed you the tales you longed for. Now here we are, many months later, you know all mine secrets, I your's and I still ponder how it is you have such a mind."_

_ "What do you mean?" I asked, turning in his arms so I faced him. I pressed my lips to his cold ones, enjoying the sensations he gave me. His mouth parted and I felt his tongue taste my lips. I couldn't bear to part my lips, for every time I did, he would send me in a frenzy I couldn't handle... His lips left mine and our eyes met._

_ "I mean," he murmured softly, "that you have such an openness, such a thirst. Most people of your...class lack such a mindset." He was always careful when referring to my social rank. But it didn't bother me, I knew I was a poor farm girl and that he enjoyed a far different lifestyle than I._

_ "That's because when I look up at the sky, seeing it stretch for miles, I know that there is more than my little village," I playfully kissed his forehead. "And also, you tell me of your adventures. I know I want to spend my life with you, joining you on your many adventures."_

_ His arms wrapped tight around me, his eyes were searching mine._

_ That was the night he asked me to be with him for the rest of _his _life._

"Ms Moore, your schedule is ready!" Ms. Sanders said, coming from the printer room and walking towards me and snapping me back to 2013. My eyes were wet. I wiped them as I stood up and faced her.

"Thank you, Ms. Sanders," I bit into my wrist and shoved it against her open mouth. She was resistant at first, but then caved to the desire of my blood. I tore my wrist from her mouth then twisted her head all the way around. "For ruining my memory."

I stooped down and picked up my schedule that was clutched in her dead hands, then left the office in time for the bell to ring. I looked at my schedule. First period would be in room 115 for history, which I found easily. Elana was in my class, and unsurprisingly, so was Stefan. It was that way for all of my classes.


	3. Chapter 3

By the end of two weeks I was bored of Mystic Falls. The only exciting thing that happened was Elana figured out what Stefan and Damon are, and that Elana's friend, Bonnie, was indeed a witch. Not surprising, every Benet I ever knew had been witches. And tonight was the Halloween dance. I had heard from Stefan that Damon had turned some Vickie girl into a vampire. He warned me to be on the lookout for her, apparently she was unstable. I told him I wasn't afraid of any newborn vampire, and that she wasn't of my concern. I also told him sarcastically that I had to work on my vampire costume Elana let me borrow and that he needed to leave.

The costume wasn't much, just a cape and a very short dress. I decided I'd be real messy with my next victim. This time I did kill them. It was Ms. Sanders. I still hadn't forgiven her for ruining my memory.

Satisfied with how "vampiric" I looked, I went to the dance. It was incredibly noisy, the sound of the people and music a shock to my ears. The horrible flashing lights soon produced a migraine, and the fact that there was an occasional flash of a strobe light didn't make things any better. On top of that, it didn't seem to me that the guests of this dance were dancing, rather having sex with clothes on. My mind flashed back to a time when people could still dance. How I missed those days. I thought of the balls I used to attend with my love. Then Damon was in front of me.

"What are you so upset about?" he smirked at me.

"Damon, I am not here to be harassed, but to simply masquerade as a silly human, living a boring, redundant life," I said dryly.

We looked at each other a moment, then laughed. We both knew neither of us had ever or would ever conform to such a lifestyle. I could sense that he did as he pleased when he pleased, I liked that.

"What are you supposed to be anyway?" I looked at him, he was wearing his usual get up of black jeans, leather jacket, and t-shirt.

"Human!" he joked.

"Oh, yes, this is a Halloween dance hosted by supernatural beings, of course."

"Look," he said stepping close so only I could hear him, "That new vampire, Vicki, I have to kill her. Tonight. Once I do that, I remember I offered you my help; we should discuss that now."

"Alright," I said. "I'll be here."

Then he turned on his heel and was gone from site. I sighed and went to sit at one of the empty decorated tables. I closed my eyes and blocked out the noise of the dance. I wanted so desperately for this to be a ball, and that when I opened my eyes my love would be standing before me, bowing politely, hoping I'd take his hand and dance with him. I visualized the dark gym with its flashing lights becoming a brightly decorated ball room, my stupid strappy dress becoming a long, elegant ball gown of the fifteenth century.

I opened my eyes, finally convinced. Instead of my love standing before me Damon Salvatore did. He smiled politely and bowed, extending his hand, his eyes never leaving mine.

"I imagine _this _is what you long for," he said.

I decided to take his bait and took his hand, following him to the dance floor.

"You're arrogant," i pointed out.

"What else is new?" He raised his eyebrows, making his face look even more arrogant.

"Its an act," I locked eyes with him, waiting for him to falter.

For just a moment, his face unmasked, but I couldn't tell what he was revealing. "And your ferocity? That's an act, too," he countered.

"Well, I _am_ a vampire, Damon," I smiled. "Its in our nature to be fierce."

"I have yet to see you not holding some threat over someone to get your way," he said. "You even compelled the history teacher to tell your version of history."

"My version is correct, I was actually _there_!" I said defensively. "And besides, I know compulsion has been an useful friend for you as well. Perhaps we are alike, Damon."

He nodded, whether in agreement or just to end that part of the conversation, I couldn't discern.

"But, I hear you're going to help me, and that Katarina isn't dead?"

"She isn't. She tricked the men that captured the vampires," Damon started. "I don't know where she is, but I _know_ she escaped. I spent nearly two centuries obsessing over her; she has left traces of herself everywhere."

"That's how I ended up here, the last lead I had pointed me to Mystic Falls."

Damon looked at me, he was confused. "How is your last lead almost two hundred years behind? With your age, you should have found her almost instantly."

I stepped back from him. "Damon, do not insult me."

"No," he stepped closer. "I didn't mean it that way; someone has been keeping you far away from capturing her. Who gave you the hint that she might be here?"

"Some Trevor bloke," I said, still feeling a bit insulted. "He was a vampire infatuated with her. He kept my love from capturing him for some ritual they were to perform. I was told by my love's sister that she was the original doppelganger; they needed her blood for something. Something about a moonstone. I imagine, though, that he needn't fear I spill her blood for some silly ritual seeing as now she is a vampire."

"How long had you been travelling with Trevor?" Damon asked, his brows furrowing closer together.

"A hundred and forty six years," and I realized Trevor had been leading me in circles. Trevor had been quite taken with Katarina, even more so than my love. He probably still was. I was angry.

"Well," Damon swallowed. "A hundred and forty six years ago, Rosalina, Stefan and I became vampires."

My anger flared. If Trevor wasn't already on the run from my love and owed him his head, I would find him myself and shatter him.

"How dare he!" I screamed. Guests at the dance paused in their dancing to stare at me. Deciding I wasn't that interesting, they continued dancing. I turned away from Damon to flee, I had to leave Mystic Falls, I needed to hunt Katarina down once and for all. Then I would drag Trevor to wherever my love was, let him tear Trevor apart. Damon grabbed my wrist.

"Rosalina," he said.

I turned on him fast, tearing my wrist from his grip. I felt the veins beneath my eyes start to ripple and my eyes go red. "Leave me alone, Damon!" I hissed, then picked him up by his neck and slammed him into the floor. This time everyone was staring, wondering if this was an act that the school decided to put on. I didn't care. I turned again and fled, faster than any of them could blink.

Luckily for me, Damon recovered and was before me in seconds. "Rosalina, stop."

I stopped and looked up at him angrily, the veins beneath my eyes still pulsing. "I have been made a fool!"

"Calm down, "he said, his hands gripped my shoulders firmly. His eyes holding my gaze, willing me to calm down. "Breathe. Breathe. I will help you."

"You've yet to mention how!" I took a fierce step closer to him.

"We're going to track down Katherine. We're going to kill her," he said in a firm voice. "And I will help you find your lover."

I considered his words a moment. "Okay," the veins beneath my eyes stopped pulsing. My fangs slid back into my gums. "Okay." I dropped my head, staring at the ground. The anger left me weak, ready to break.

"Let me walk you home," Damon put his arm around my shoulder and stepped beside me, leading me in the direction of my home. I didn't object.

I felt the strength in me weakening. I may be old. I may be strong. I may be fast. But the anger, the hurt, the rage I had been carrying for five hundred years was starting to cripple me. I didn't want to appear weak in front of anyone, but something about Damon made me believe he understood; that I could trust him with breaking.

"She used me, like a toy," he said finally. "I was so in love with Katherine, Rosalina. I wanted to believe desperately that she was in love with me, too. I refused to accept that she only wanted Stefan, that I meant nothing to her.

"I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for the night she was caught. I firmly believe she had no intentions of changing me, despite what she said. And then, when she was dead, I spent my entire vampire life in grief. I loved her for so long. But then I was out of town, I was on my way to Mystic Falls, and a witch told me Katherine was still alive. I was filled with rage, just as you are now, Rosalina."

I looked up at Damon. "I'm sorry, Damon, for what she did," there was pain in his eyes as he looked back at me. "You must have been so different, then."

"I was," he took in a breath, it sounded pained. "Now I'm not that person. It doesn't matter. What matters is, Katherine will die."

"Right she will," I said. "You rip out her heart; I'll tear her head off. We both can set flame to her."

"You really want her dead."

"As much as you can imagine, Damon."

We continued walking. The walk was short, but in that time we managed to cover a lot. He told me a lot of what his human life was like, how being vampires had put a strain on his relationship with his brother; I told him that my love was an Original, how he met me one summer day on my farm, I told him what life was like in the eleventh century as a human, about my husband and children.

"How could you leave them?" He asked.

"It wasn't hard to leave my husband," I said flatly. "He married me for my land, I married him to procreate."

"And your children, what of them?"

I drew in a deep breath. "My children… They were the only thing I struggled with letting go. I loved them so dearly. But, I couldn't bear another day on that farm. I mean, after you have fallen in love with a vampire, how can you go back to living normally?

"At the end of each of their lives, I visited them. I explained to them everything; I explained to them that I had continually watched over them throughout the years. They begged me to protect their lineage, and I have. I know every single one of my descendants, even to this day, Damon. I see it as making up for walking out of their lives. A price I will gladly pay for all of eternity, until my lineage is no more."

My eyes were wet. It seemed that all I could do in Mystic Falls was cry.

Damon's hand slipped into mine, his way of showing sympathy. "When I was human, I dreamed of having children someday. Actually growing old and having grandchildren. And then dying…"

"I've never dreamed of dying," I said. "But I had always dreamed of children. It must be a human thing, that desire for children."

"Must be," Damon agreed.

We had arrived at my doorstep. "Well, Damon, thank you for—"

He had gotten in front of me, turned me and pressed my back into the door.

"Damon?"

"Shhh," he whispered, his eyes piercing through mine. I suddenly felt human again, the piercing eyes of a vampire prying into my being. I was overwhelmed. His fingers were under my chin, pulling my face to his. I felt his lips before they were on me, he hovered there a moment, willing me to kiss him first. I fell for it. I pressed my lips to his and kissed him, my hands moving from his shoulders, up his neck and into his thick hair. His hands trailed down my back, the backs of my thighs until he reached my knees. He lifted me up and in a whirl we were inside my house, my back against the door again. I let out a sigh.

Damon's lips parted from mine and he stared at me. I felt my mouth hanging slightly open, a daze running through my mind as I stared back.

"Thank God for vampires, right?" he said softly then he thrust against me, pinning me to the door with his body so he could grab my face. His lips were on mine again. He kissed the side of my face, working his way to my neck. I tilted my head back and pushed his jacket off, which he flung to the floor. He looked at me, his eyes were red and his veins were rippling, his pointy fangs poking out between his slightly parted lips. Once, I had been afraid of that look, but now it only turned me on more. I tore his shirt off from him, running my hands over his chiseled body. Then he flung my hands above my head, pinning them to the door, kissing the crevice between my breasts, up my neck and back to my lips.

I put my legs down, and then slammed him hard into the floor. He stared up at me, propping himself up with his elbows. Slowly, I lifted my dress, revealing my body to him. I heard him rustle, about to get up.

"Don't move," I hissed pulling my dress above my head and tossing it on the floor next to me. I looked down at him, he was sitting up, frozen in the position I told him not to move from. I watched his eyes trail my body. Once his eyes reached my face, my fangs had slid out and I could feel the rippling of the veins beneath my eyes. I walked closer to him, then knelt down, straddling him. I took his hands, pressing them against my stomach, spreading his fingers, and slowly sliding his hands up my torso. I felt his fingertips push under my bra, pushing it above my breasts as his hands inched further up. I let my head fall back, giving myself up to the desire I felt for Damon.

Then he ripped my bra off, his hands cupping my breasts, his lips kissing every part of my chest. I released his hands and grabbed the back of his head, my fingers knotting in his hair. Damon bit into my neck, and I moaned. Only as a vampire did it feel pleasurable to be pierced by the fangs of another vampire. Suddenly, I felt him push me and I was now on my back. He held himself above me, letting his pelvis crash into mine. I could feel how hard he was through his jeans, causing the desire in me to grow. My hands slid to his jeans, which I undid, sliding both his pants and his undergarments off. He helped kick them off. His eyes caught mine and I watched him watch me. His hand slid from beside my shoulder, down my body to my panties. My breathing grew heavy as his hand slipped inside. Tingles of pleasure shot through my body as he pressed his fingers into my slit, rubbing slowly.

"Nnn, Damon," I whispered, my hands now on the sides of his head. My eyes closed and I lifted my head to his neck, trailing my lips across his skin. I felt his fingers deep inside me; my mind went wild with pleasure as his hand moved faster and faster. Unable to hold back any longer, I bit into the flesh of his neck, moaning loudly.

He pulled his hand out of my panties, then slowly pulled them down my legs and set them aside. He put both hands on the side of my face, forcing me to look at him. My eyes looked into his, the look of hunger on his face causing my heart to thump wildly in my chest.

"Are you ready?" He smiled, pulling my body close to his, his hands trailing up my sides, back to the back of my neck where he held me in place. He kissed me, forcing my lips apart, knowing I would go in a frenzy.

"Yes," I pleaded. "Yes, I'm ready."

He laid me back on the ground, gently. He pushed my knees up and gently spread my legs. I felt his hands on the insides of my thighs, more tingling. I looked at him as he edged closer to me, his hands resting on top of my knees. Our eyes met, and then I felt him find his way inside me and I moaned. First he was slow, making sure the pleasure I felt dragged out in a way that felt almost like torture. Then I felt his torso press against mine.

"Look at me," he whispered, his hand gently gripping beneath my chin. I obeyed; he began thrusting faster, harder. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pushing him in further. We both let out a moan.

I let out small whimpers of pleasure, letting my hands explore his body. He kissed me hard, then pinned my hands on the floor near my head. I kissed him back, wanting nothing more than to stay in that moment. Both of our bodies working together in a sort of animalistic desperation. Then I unpinned my hands and rolled him over. I sat all the way up, resting one hand on one of his legs. I moved my hips against his and arched my back. I felt his hands gripping my hips, his fingertips piercing my flesh as he pushed me down hard. Then Damon sat up, his hands wandering to the small of my back; both of us moving together. His lips trailed the front of my neck, beneath my chin. My hands gripped the back of his neck, his blood dripping over my fingers. Both of us were moaning loudly now, unable to contain ourselves. I grabbed the sides of his face, and moved my hips faster and harder. My whole body felt like it was going to burst from the pleasure coursing through me. His eyes pierced mine, I felt that same human feeling I felt earlier, and then I felt my head tilt back, my eyes shutting. I screamed out Damon's name, feeling as though my body was swelling. And then I felt myself go weak. I dropped my head to his shoulder, breathing heavily. He gently pushed me back to the floor, on top of me now. He kept thrusting, kissing my neck and shoulders. My whole body was shuddering as wave of pleasure after wave of pleasure shot through me. Finally he let out a loud moan, and I felt him release inside me. He collapsed on my chest, breathing into my neck.

We lay like that, neither of us able or willing to move. I looked out my windows; saw specks of the rising sun make its way through my curtains. I smiled. Then Damon moved off from me, and lay beside me, his arms pulling me close to him.

"I've never made love like that before," he confessed after a while. His voice was exhausted.

I turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

He propped himself up enough so I had to look up at him. "I mean, I've never made love like that. Ever. Not as a human. Not as a vampire. Not until now."

My mind flashed back to when he said _Thank God, for vampires, right?_ I hadn't known what he meant then, but then it clicked. To him, this night had felt like fate, like it was written in the stars to happen.

I realized I felt the same way. Nothing like that had happened since I had been with my lover. Everyone in between him and Damon had felt sloppy, had felt rushed, there was no connection, no mutual feelings. It had just been a release. And I just _knew_ I was meant for my lover, that I had been constructed specifically for him. And now here Damon and I lay, on my living room floor, our bodies intertwined as though it were meant to be.

I touched his face, my thumb tracing the edges of his lips. He placed his hand over my eyes and gazed into my eyes. I couldn't decipher what he was thinking.

"Damon," I said, unsure of what I was going to say. And I decided to tell him the truth. "I feel the same way. Its only happened to me with one other person. So yes, thank God for vampires."

Neither of us smiled, we just stared at each other, his hand pressed to mine.

"If he comes around, I won't mean anything to you," he said. And he was right. Nothing could stop how I felt for my love, not even whatever it was I felt for Damon.

"Damon, I…" I didn't know what to say.

"No, Rosalina," he smiled. "Its okay. Let's just lay here for a while, then we can go back to reality."

I nodded, lifted my head and kissed him. He kissed me back, pulling me on top of him. His hands gently rubbed my back as we kissed. Then he pulled away from the kiss, rested his head on the floor and gazed up at me. I smiled down at him, traced the side of his face with my fingers.

"Are you ready for another go?" He asked, laughing.

I felt him harden again. I laughed. "I was beginning to think you'd never ask!"


	4. Chapter 4

It was late evening by the time Damon left my house. Both of us were exhausted, it was time for sleep. When he left, I felt a sudden loneliness that I hadn't expected to feel.

I knew I needed to think. I had to figure out what I felt for Damon, even though I knew that either way he would end up hurt. For one, I was very strongly attracted to him. Sex with him was amazing. I should know, I just spent the past day and a half doing nothing but have sex with him. I knew we had a connection because of what Katherine had done to us. I knew I was even more attracted to him because his love making reminded me so much of my lover, but out of bed he was completely different than him. He was arrogant, over-confident, sarcastic, uncaring. But he was also understanding, he also had hidden a hurt and rage that consumed him in some way.

I made my way to the kitchen, towards the fridge, and opened the freezer which was stuffed with blood bags. I pulled one out and set it on the counter, letting it thaw. I decided I would take a shower while the blood warmed to room temperature. I trumped up the stairs, went down the hallway, and entered the bathroom. It was a nice little bathroom. Two sinks, two mirrors, a Jacuzzi tub, marble floors and counters, and a reasonably sized stand up shower. I turned on the water in the Jacuzzi, deciding that I needed to relax.

Then I went and rummaged in the cabinets under the sink for some bath soap and incense. I decided to go with rose and vanilla, two of my favourite smells in the entire world. I lit the incense and set it on the counter, then I poured some or the rose scented soap into the water and swirled it, creating bubbles. This was another thing I appreciated about being a vampire: The ability to exist in a time with having a bath room in your own house.

Already naked, I slid into the tub, its hot water warming my cold skin. I let out a pleasure sigh as the warmth engulfed me. I let my mind wander freely over the events of the previous night. I had not expected to have slept with Damon, though I will admit, I had wanted to ever since I first laid eyes on him. I wondered if when we were dancing he had planned on kissing me on my doorstep, or if it was just as spontaneous to him as it was to me. I wanted to call and ask him. I wanted to call him and tell him to come join me in my hot Jacuzzi and we could work on having sex in all parts of my upper floor like we did my first floor.

But I didn't want that with Damon, as tempting as it was. I started crying again. This time I couldn't tell if I was crying because I was angry, upset, or confused. I let the ache of five hundred years without my love take over me.

"Why haven't you found me?!" I screamed, slamming my fists into the sides of the tub. "Do you not love me anymore?!"

Anxiety took over me next as the weight of the words I had just screamed sunk into my head. _What if he never wanted to see me again?_ I thought. Then I laughed at myself, why am I now thinking this? Its been over five hundred years by now, he would have found me if he wanted to, he is an _Original Vampire_! I felt my heart stop as it dawned on me that he more than likely didn't love me anymore. Something in me was cracking. The hurt was nearly physical. I slumped in my tub, the cracked walls of the Jacuzzi leaking water all over my bathroom floor. I didn't care.

Just as fast as I was about to give up, I was angry. I got up out of the tub and raced to my room, quickly going through my dresser and shoving clothes on. I was going out on a hunting spree. I sped out of my house, veins rippling, fangs at the ready, eyes red with blood-lust.

The first person I came across, I just reached out and snapped their neck, not even giving them the chance to see me. By the first person, I felt that if I was going to kill them, then they could at least see my face. By the tenth, my guilt had overcome me and I decided to change them. When I came to Number Fifteen, I was sobbing uncontrollably over this nearly middle-aged woman. Her eyes had been filled with fear, unsure of what to do.

"I love him!" I screamed at her, tears streaming from my face, sobs wrenching from my chest. "Where is he? Not here! He's probably fucking Katarina, laughing at me for being so FOOLISH!" I ran behind the woman, lifted her car and huffed it down the road. She screamed.

"Don't move!" I shouted at her, the force of my compulsion made her stiff. I walked up to her slowly, sobbing. I wrapped my arms around her and let my body go limp. "I just…It hurts too much…But I couldn't bear to turn my humanity off. That means no more him…No more feelings for him…No more hope…

"Please, hug me…" I whimpered into the woman's ear. I felt her dainty arms wrap around my back.

"There, there," she cooed at me.

I sobbed even harder knowing she didn't understand, that she was only comforting me because I told her to.

"I want to kill you," I confessed to her, looking her in the eyes. "I want to kill you, and every human and vampire that comes in my path. I want to destroy _everything_!"

Her eyes widened with fear again. "Please, don't kill me…I have children…"

It was her turn to whimper.

"I had children, too," I cried. Anger pulsing through me. "And I threw them away for a stupid vampire!"

I began raging around again. Tearing doors off from cars, throwing them about.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I have to kill you," I stepped in front of her, grabbed her shoulders as she screamed and bit deep into her neck. Tears and blood streamed down her neck as I drained the life from her. "No, no! You have children! What am I doing?" I screamed at myself, pulling her away from me.

"Here!" I bit my wrist and forced her to drink from it. Once she had enough to heal, I compelled her to believe she was having a nightmare, that I didn't really exist. Then I ran off.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been one week since the murders. It was all over the news, in the papers, in the mouths of everyone in Mystic Halls. "Mass Murderer on the Run in Mystic Falls" was the title of today's paper. I also hadn't attended school for a week. Everyone who came to my house, I turned away. Even Damon. He was harder to turn away, but I just wanted to let myself decompose in this house. I had drained all of the blood in my freezer. I now lay on my bed upstairs feeling weak.

It would take centuries for me to feel any worse. I knew that. But I had lived a thousand years. It didn't matter to me. One century felt like one human year to me. My love would never know what became of me, nor would he care if he ever found out. He would write me off as not having been strong enough to survive. Damon would move on, find someone who would make love to him all the time, not just when things were falling apart.

I heard a banging on my door. I ignored it. Then someone was pulling my blankets off from me and throwing open my curtains. I hissed at the light. I leapt from my bed and tried to leave the room but suddenly Stefan Salvatore was blocking me. I turned and went for the window and found Damon in front of me. He was quick. Suddenly his arms were around me, gripping tight. I was too weak to fend him off, but all the same, he yelled for Stefan to help him tackle me to the ground. Once they had me pinned, I glared up at them and started screaming in their faces.

"Just let me die! What do you two care, I barely know you!" I tried unpinning my arms to claw them in the face, but to no avail.

"You've been in Mystic Falls barely a month and you've gone on a murder spree and are now trying to starve yourself to death," Damon said to me. "This really isn't your place, is it?"

"Its my place as long as there is a chance to kill you," I tried fighting him off from me, but both Damon and Stefan pressed their weight against me, it was no use.

"Come one, why would you want to kill me?" he frowned sarcastically. "Last time I was here, I left with the impression you hadn't had enough of me."

"Yeah and maybe I'm necromantic and want to hang your dead body in my closet!" I managed to get a hand free and scratched him across the face, cutting his flesh deep. "Get off from me!"

"Whoa, whoa, Stefan's here, I don't think he'd want to join in," Damon said, struggling to get control of my free hand. "Will you calm down?!"

"What do you want with me?" I said, giving one last shot at breaking free.

"I want you to live!" Damon shouted.

I was silenced by the pain and hurt in his face and voice. I turned my face away from him, trying to hide the tears that were now pouring out of my eyes. Damon and Stefan eased up. I rolled away from them and sat up, back to them. My shoulders shook with the force of my sobs. "I don't want to, Damon…"

I felt his hands on my shoulders, him sitting next to me and pulling me into his lap. I could still hear Stefan breathing; coming closer to make sure everything was safe.

"Damon, I can't, he doesn't love me," I sobbed into Damon's shoulder. I was aware him hearing my pain over another man made it hard for him to comfort me, but I couldn't help it. I was so insane with the agonizing thought that I had been forgotten. "Why else hasn't he come for me or tracked me down? He's probably made no efforts…"

Damon began rocking me, rubbing my back. "No, no, shh, don't think that. I'm sure he's been looking for you. Do you understand who you're tracking? She wasn't easy to find, remember? It took you this long to find her resting place." I knew he said that because he more than likely hadn't yet broken the news to Stefan.

"But he's an Original! He could have found me within a minute of my leaving if he had truly wanted to!" I felt my fists clench and tighten.

"Whoa, whoa…He's an Original?" Stefan asked in disbelief. "Damon, why didn't you tell me this?"

Damon twisted his head to glare at his brother. "Its not important what kind of vampire she's in love with, Stefan."

"Yes it is, Damon!" Stefan said. "They're dangerous vampires. That means she's dangerous as well!"

Damon shot up and was in his brother's face within half a second. "She is dangerous simply because she is a _thousand years old_, Stefan! Just as we are more dangerous to vampires younger than us, it is a fact of life!

I turned to face them slowly. "Stefan, if I wanted to hurt you, I would have done so by now. You're not worth that much effort, sorry."

I collapsed to the floor not having the energy for anymore of this conversation. Damon stooped down and picked me up then carried me downstairs and placed me gently on my couch.

"We made love here a week ago, Damon," my eyes were closed as I patted the couch.

"I know, Rosalina," he knelt down and pressed his hand to my face. I opened my eyes to look at him and instantly wished I hadn't. There was too much concern, too much pain for me to handle at the moment. "Listen, Stefan is going to go back to our house and bring you some blood, okay? And we are going to talk, you and I. How does that sound?"

I heard my front door open and close as Stefan left. "Okay. What are we going to talk about?" I looked at him.

"Don't look so sad, dear," his face rested on the cushion my head was on.

"Well, when its all you feel, what else can you express?"

"Turn it off," he whispered.

"No!" I said, louder than I intended.

"But it's the only way you'll be able to feel better, just turn it off," he urged.

"No," I said again. "You know the murders?"

"Yes."

"Well, there was supposed to be fifteen. Five of them are actually dead. Nine of them are "missing" meaning they are now vampires or dead someplace else, and one…I let her go." I explained. "If I turn my humanity off, you can expect those numbers to be much higher with no survivors, not even the living dead."

"So? You're a vampire," he pointed out. "Its what we're supposed to do, Rosalina."

"No, no its not, Damon. We choose to act that way because we let our emotions and cravings rule our life. We may be vampires, but we don't _have_ to kill."

Damon was silent. I looked at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Then what will help you?" his voice gave away hints of sadness and fear. "What will help you that won't involve your death or the return of your Original vampire, Rosalina?"

"Why do you call me Rosalina?" I asked.

"What? Its your name? You call me Damon, right? Because its my name?" He was sarcastic.

"Everyone else calls me Rose, Damon." I said harshly.

"Look, I'm not falling for your deflection. _What. Will. Help. You?_" He asked through gritted teeth.

I wished I could be compelled, I would have begged him to erase the memories and feelings I had for my lover. But that wasn't an option.

"Damon…," I sighed and turned away from him, facing the back side of the couch.

His hand was on my shoulder, pulling me back to face him. His lips were on mine before I could react. Then he parted from me, keeping his hands on my face, holding my gaze with his.

"Tell me, please," he pleaded, "Rose."

"I can't ask this of you, Damon, its too great," I averted my eyes. "Its too soon."

"Rosalina, if you don't tell me straight out, I'm not going to get it, just tell me."

I looked back at him. "You, Damon, you." I started crying again as fear struck me.

"What about me? What do you want me to do?"

"You said you could help me," I reminded him. "So I believed you—"

He was kissing me again, pulling me off the couch and onto the floor. He rested on top of me, kissing me. I felt his fingers under my chin, then felt his arms wrap around me. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back, tears streaming from my closed eyes.

"Don't mind me guys," came Stefan's voice from the entrance of my living room. "I'm just dropping off the blood then, seeing as plans have changed."

Damon and I sat up. "Sorry, bro." Damon stood up and took the blood from Stefan. "But plans have not changed."

"What plan?" I asked trying to stand up. I wasn't strong enough so I settled for the couch. They both walked into the living room. Damon sat next to me on the couch and Stefan sat in the chair closer to Damon's end. Damon handed me an open blood pouch.

The smell of the blood made my stomach growl angrily. I pressed the opening to my lips and sucked it dry within ten seconds. Damon handed me another one. The same thing happened four more times. By the sixth bag, I was able to sip slowly.

"The plan is to unearth Katherine and steak her," Stefan said simply. "Bonnie, Elena's friend said she could do it."

Damon rolled his eyes at me secretly. "I think we should tell him," he said.

"Tell me what?" Stefan asked, turning his face to Damon.

"Katherine escaped, Stefan." Damon said flatly.

Stefan considered it a moment, then nodded. "And you couldn't bother to tell me this sooner because…?"

"Because, I promised Rosalina here me and her would track her down and kill her," Damon put his arm around me, including me. "But, since you've offered your help, it won't be turned down."

"I didn't say I was going to help," Stefan said, then looked at me. "But you will need my help, so I have to offer it."

"Great!" I said before Damon could say anything. I was now on my twelfth blood bag and was feeling healthier than ever. "Now, where do we start?"

"We can ask Bonnie to do a tracking spell," Stefan offered. "I have an old photograph of Katherine she could use for the spell."

"That sounds like a good idea," I looked at Damon.

"Its better than what I got," he said leaping off the couch. "Now, let's go find ourselves a witch!"

Damon and Stefan dragged me to the dreaded school, reminding me it was almost Friday and I had missed a week, I needed to go.

"I'm gonna drop out," I threatened dryly. Both Damon and Stefan laughed at that, knowing full well it wouldn't matter if I dropped out or not. "You do realize I was turned when I was twenty-two years old, right? I mean…Its just insulting I'm in twelfth grade…"

"Just go in and find Bonnie. You and Stefan will bring her out and we'll be on our marry way." Damon instructed.

"Fine." I glowered at him.

"Come on, babe, don't be dejected," he pulled me close to him, his hands on my waist.

"If you're going to be an asshole outside of my bedroom, you can drop the whole thing," I flared at him.

"Hey, hey, I'm just playing," he gave me his sinister smile, the one that he gave when he was trying to look innocent when he really wasn't.

I continued to glare.

He stepped back, rolling his eyes. "I don't get women." He waved his hands in the air.

I smirked. "Good, you shouldn't. Ready, Stefan?" I asked walking into the school. Stefan followed close behind and Damon stared after us. He was supposed to wait for us so we could be on our marry way.

We found Bonnie easily. The only classes we had with her were history and lunch. Luckily, it was lunch time. She was sitting by herself, still ignoring Elena and now Caroline (a new vampire). Stefan and I sat on either side of her. She tensed up.

"What do you want?" she asked curtly.

"We need you do us a spell," I said, smiling at her.

"Why would I help you?" she glared at me.

If she hadn't been a witch, I would have grabbed her by the back of her head and slammed her face into her lunch tray. But I knew better than that.

"Because if you don't, Elena will die." I threatened. But it was the truth, anyway.

She managed to find a way to stiffen even more. She wasn't on speaking terms with her friends, but she didn't want her to die, either.

"Okay," she turned to Stefan, the only vampire she currently could place some ounce of trust in. "What do I have to do?"

He took out of his coat pocket the picture of Katherine and handed it to Bonnie. "We need you to do a tracking spell to find Katherine. She's still alive, and well, Rosalina has some unfinished business with her."

She looked at me and I nodded.

"Okay, I'll do it," she nodded again. "When do you need me to?"

"Now I would be perfect!" I said.

"No, Bonnie, how about after school?" Stefan said.

"After school sounds perfect, I have a chem test anyway today."

"Alright, sounds great," Stefan said getting up. "We'll see you at Rosalina's house after school."

"Um, where does she live?" Bonnie looked at me, confused.

I quickly wrote my address on a piece of her notebook paper. "There. We will see you then!" I left the cafeteria and fled to the outside before any of the teachers could stop me. Apparently Stefan stayed behind, probably to talk to Elena no doubt.

Damon was leaning against his car. He looked up at the sound of the slamming doors. Then I was in front of him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. His hands gripped my hips gently as he kissed me back.

"What's this for?" he mumbled against my lips.

I kept kissing him.

"I don't know, I just felt like it," I finally said parting from his lips.

"Oh, well don't stop," he smiled pulling me back into the kiss.

I giggled against his lips then kissed him again.

I knew it wasn't right to treat Damon this way, not when I still wasn't sure how I felt about him. And especially not when my heart still belonged to someone else. I just couldn't get past this strong connection I felt with him. And maybe he was the reason my love hadn't found me in five hundred years, maybe I was meant to be with Damon. The idea began to spin a web in my head, and I found myself agreeing with it more and more the longer we kissed.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, pulling away from the kiss and resting my head on his shoulder.

"Why the hell Stefan is taking so long and why you like to randomly kiss me," I felt his head look from left and right. I noticed when he was out in public, he scanned his surroundings thoroughly and a lot more often than when he was in a building, unless it was a public building. I wondered what he had been through to cause him to have that reaction.

"No," I nudged him with my elbow. "Beyond that. What are you thinking about that you normally wouldn't tell someone?"

His arms wrapped tight around me and he let out a sigh. "Well, if I don't normally tell people, why would I tell you right now, where anyone close enough could hear?"

I didn't say anything; I could tell I wasn't getting anything out of him.

"I have to go home," I said then parted from his embrace and turned on my heel, fleeing before he could respond to me. I didn't understand Damon, and I suddenly didn't want to. I didn't want to be with him if he couldn't open up. I had opened up everything for him, if he couldn't do that for me, then I was wrong about thinking we were meant to be. I realized this was extremely insecure of me, but I felt I deserved to be insecure after five hundred years of hunting and for no reason.

Once home I just sat in my living room, cross legged on the couch. I would wait for Bonnie and Stefan to come perform the spell. At this point I didn't care what Damon did. In fact, I would prefer it if her decided to track her without me. There was a knock on my door. I checked the time on my wristwatch. It was much too soon for Bonnie to arrive so I remained quiet.

Whoever it was knocked again, this time the knocking becoming more persistent. I knew it was Damon, so I decided to remain quiet. There was no living person here, he could come in as he pleased and he knew it. Why was he playing these stupid human games?

After ten minutes of the knocking I heard the door open and close. Then the lights flickered on and Damon was standing in front of me.

"Geez, you're annoying," I got up and walked towards the kitchen, trying to make every effort to make clear to him I didn't want to see him. "Go away. Don't you have some humans to play with?" I headed for my stairs, he followed.

"Come on, talk to me," he said.

"I don't feel like it right now, Damon," I said turning into my bathroom. Someone had fixed my Jacuzzi. I had my suspicions it was the vampire now following me into the bathroom. I closed the door in his face and went to the sink. He opened the door and came in anyway.

"You felt like it a half hour ago, what happened?" He threw his hands up in the air again.

I gave him a glare from the mirror. Then I opened it and took out my brush and started to vigorously brush through my hair that hadn't been brushed in a week.

"Look, I'm sorry," he was standing next to me now. "I can't just open up on the spot like that."

"You weren't on the spot, we were alone! Trust me, my hearing is far better than yours!" I slammed my brush down onto the marble counter, it cracked. "What is it gonna take to get through your thick skull I am a thousand years old, Damon?!"

"Hey!" He grabbed me and turned me so I was facing him and slammed me into the counter. "I know how old you are, Rosalina. And you know how old I am. I get your hearing is better, your speed, your strength. But its not _that_ much better."

I shoved him hard so he flew into my stand up shower, smashing glass and metal everywhere. "Do you want to test that?" I yelled at him. Then I sped to him before he could get up, picked him up by his arm and flung him into my counter, the marble crumbling everywhere. This time he reacted fast and was slamming me into the floor. I kicked him off me, he hit the ceiling then slammed into the Jacuzzi he had just fixed, crushing one of the walls to the ground.

I became angry then, my fangs released, the veins beneath my eyes popped out, and my reflection told me my eyes were burning red.

"If you want to try and hurt me, then hurt me!" I hissed at him. He got up and sped at me, his face matching mine. He went to punch me but I grabbed his fist and bent it back then flung him back on the floor. Before I could let go of his fist, he used his free arm to grab mine and pull me down. My face crashed into the floor, denting the marble and sending cracks all around. I growled and pushed myself up just enough to straddle him and plunge my hand into his chest. My fingers were so close to his heart, if I pressed any further into his chest I could yank his heart out. He grabbed my wrist and fought to pull it out, I tore his hand off with my free hand then yanked my hand out of his chest before I decided to rip his heart out. Instead I punched him his face. He growled at me loudly then pushed me and tackled me onto my back, his hands closing on my neck.

I stared up at him with such anger, both of our faces still in vampire attack mode. He was breathing heavily as he stared back at me. His grip on my neck tightened, I felt I was choking. I swung my hand at his elbow, bending it inwards. It cracked loudly. Then I pushed him off from me and stood up.

"Enough!" I said quietly and left the bathroom. I went downstairs and sat on my couch.

A few minutes later Damon walked into the living room, all bruises healed. He sat down next to me.

"Now will you talk with me?" He asked quietly.

"Are we gonna have to beat each other up every time I ask you to open up?" I crossed my arms.

"No," he said, his voice was still quiet. "I'm sorry, Rosalina. I just… I've never had to open up before, not since I was a human and actually wanted to open up. You understand what the nineteenth century was like, if you opened up, you were weak. In the nineteenth century, I was weak."

"I don't think you were, Damon," I looked at him. "You just weren't born in the right era. And now you can live in any era that exists from now until the end of time. You can _be_ who you were when you were human, Damon. But you've buried him so deep, he probably doesn't exist anymore."

He nodded and finally looked at me. "But what about you? What's your excuse? Why do I have to be human when every other vampire I know isn't?"

"Damon, this is me, right now. When we made love. When I cried to you this morning. When I ran out of the school and kissed you for no other reason than because I could. Asking you what was really on your mind, all attributes of my human self."

"And in the bathroom when you were kicking my ass? That was you being a human?" his voice was rising.

I paused a moment to let both of us calm down. "No, it wasn't me being human, Damon. But that isn't my point. My point is its _okay_ to be who you were before you were a vampire, while at the same time being a vampire. You don't have to bury that person, they don't have to die."

I stood up and walked to my kitchen, leaned on the sink and stared out the window. "When you live for eternity, Damon, you'll want to keep who you were alive. Or else, after a while, you start to go mad, and then you make it easier and easier to become a ripper. Its best you learn that _now_ while you are still young and still have a chance to keep who you _are_ alive."

I turned, knowing he was behind me. His brows were furrowed together, trying to fight himself inside. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't fight yourself, Damon."

"I can't help it," his jaw shook. "I'm supposed to be helping you, and here you are, giving me advice on how to best survive this curse."

I pulled him close to me. "It doesn't matter, Damon. We can help each other, okay?" I wrapped my arms around him tightly. I felt his arms fold around me, gripping me as if he was afraid if he didn't hang on to me so tightly I would disappear. In that moment, I realized that I didn't want to disappear from him.

He looked down at me and kissed me, I felt whatever it was he was feeling pour into me. It was a terrible feeling, the anxiety potent on his lips. I felt a strong urge to take it away, a feeling I had not felt since I was human. I broke away from his kiss, afraid I was going to suffocate. I looked back into his eyes and noticed both of our eyes were streaming with tears.

"Damon," I said softly. "Can you tell me now? What you're really thinking inside?"

He nodded. "I know that no matter what I do or say to keep you with me, you will leave when he comes looking for you, because I _know_ that he is looking for you. And then I will be left to suffer, and I will have to pretend like nothing happened, like I don't care that you're not with me anymore. Just like I had to do with Katherine for my entire life. But this time it will hurt more because I know without a doubt that you love me as much as I love you."

I froze, I felt my face harden into a mask. That was what I felt for Damon, the feeling I had been trying to figure out, and then pushed away every time it came to my conscious.

"Damon, its been a month," I said.

"That's me, Rosalina, that's the human part of me. Falling in love fast and recklessly." His eyes became piercing again.

I averted my eyes, knowing this was the human part of me as well. How else could a vampire steal me away, if I wasn't recklessly in love with them? I looked down at our chests not really seeing them and nodded.

Finally, I found the courage to look him in the eyes. "Damon, I know that…You love me…Just as much as I love you…But, I also know that I don't deserve you."

"And how do you know I deserve you?" he asked, his tone defensive.

"Because, you don't."

He bit his lip and tensed up, preparing to take a step away from me.

"You deserve someone better than me, someone whose heart hasn't been captured already. Someone who will make love to you the way we did last week every single day for all of eternity. Someone who won't run when their love finally comes back for them."

He sighed. "I know that right now you're here. I know I love you, I know you love me, Rosalina. I don't know what else to do other than shut my humanity off, but I can't. You need _this _part of me."

"Damon, you're not supposed to care about anyone but yourself," I reminded him.

"I do only care about myself. This is why I am trying to get you to understand I will suffer for it willingly, for you."

"No, Damon. If you only cared about yourself, you would shut your humanity off right now!" I started crying, I didn't want to be guilty for the rest of my life knowing how much I will hurt him.

"Why are you pushing me away? Earlier you wanted me to open up! I did and its wrong!" He stepped away from me.

I shook my head. "That is not what I am doing, Damon. No. Do you understand I'm not Katherine? I will feel guilty for hurting you."

"Then don't leave me, its that simple. When he shows up, tell him to go away!"

I grabbed his face and kissed him, wanting the conversation to end. He kissed me back, lifting me up to the counter and setting me down. I broke from his face and smacked him.

"You think its so easy! Try walking away from me, right now!" I said staring at him.

"I can't," he said pulling me back into the kiss, his lips moving from mine, down my neck. "I can't."

I kissed the top of his head, wishing I could have him closer than what was physically possible. I tore his shirt off from him, then he pulled me close and fell to the floor with me landing on top. Then he rolled on top of me, tugging my shirt above my head. Once it was off he kissed my chest, up to my collar bones, up my neck and back to my lips. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist and felt him go hard. He undid his pants and pulled them off, then pushed my skirt up and pulled my panties off. I stared at him as he pushed his way inside of me. He began thrusting. I felt a sense of urgency and desperation coming from him as he kissed me. His hands were wandering up my sides, making their way towards my breasts; I kept my hands locked on the sides of his face, my fingertips lacing in his hair. We stopped kissing and locked eyes. He was thrusting harder, causing our bodies to rock vigorously back and forth, yet he wouldn't break my gaze. And I didn't dare look away from him. The fear he felt was growing inside of me, my fingers kept digging deeper into his flesh. I think I was convinced if I could get inside of him, he would never disappear from me again.

"Rosalina?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"Yes, Damon?" I felt the pleasure rising in me and I was afraid one more second and I wouldn't be able to hear him. I started moaning, forcing myself to be quiet so I could hear him.

"I love you," he stopped thrusting, looking at me more serious than he had ever looked before.

I touched his lips with my fingertips. "I love you, too, Damon. I love you."

He nodded and started thrusting slowly again. We kept our gaze on each other's eyes, perhaps both of us fearing that if we looked away from the other, we'd vanish. He began thrusting harder, the desperation growing again.

Then the doorbell rang. We both looked towards it and then quickly, we were dressed and heading towards it. I opened the door to see Bonnie and Stefan standing on my porch. I checked my clock, they were right on time. It seems Damon and I were late. I know Bonnie couldn't have heard us, but I knew Stefan did. He just mockingly shook his head at Damon as he entered my house. I closed the door and turned to share a look with Damon. The same look was on his face and I was beginning to worry it was stuck. But then, quickly it vanished and he was back to his arrogant self.

I followed him into the living room where the others were seated and sat down. Bonnie explained how the spell worked. She asked if I had a globe, since there was no way of knowing for sure if Katarina was in the country. I nodded and said there was one in the attic. Damon offered to get it, but since he didn't know how to access the attic, I went with him.

Once we had put two floors between Bonnie and Stefan, Damon turned on me, pulling me close. He rested his chin on the top of my head and I wrapped my arms around him. I giggled. "We have terrible timing," I whispered, just in case Stefan might still be able to hear us.

Damon chuckled, too. "I know. Can't we send them away? I felt like we were onto something."

"Once the spell is complete, they'll go home." I said. I looked around and found the globe perched on a shelf a few feet away. Damon released me from the hug and I walked over to get it.

"Did you want to carry it, since I know you wanted to retrieve it in the first place?"

He smirked at me then took the globe from my hands. "Sure.

Once back down stairs, he placed the globe in front of Bonnie and sat down.

Bonnie had placed some candles around her and on the coffee table while Damon and I were upstairs. She had a bowl and some other objects, including the picture of Katarina. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, and suddenly the flames lit. She began chanting in a language I didn't recall nor understood. She placed the photo in the bowl and it burst to flames. Then the globe started spinning frantically, I was almost afraid it was going to break. It stopped and all of the flames went out. Bonnie opened her eyes and inspected the globe. There was a gray ash X right in the state of Virginia. Katarina was no doubt, in Mystic Falls. Suddenly, Stefan got up.

"I know where she is!" he said and then in a blink of an eye he was gone. I looked at Bonnie, then at Damon.

"Should we follow him?" I asked

Then I heard a bang and a struggle. Stefan was back, trying to drag a person into my house. Upon closer look I recognized who it was.

Katarina Petrova.

While Stefan was struggling to keep her still, Bonnie frantically worked on a spell to keep Katarina trapped in my living room. Certain that it was in place, she gave the okay for Stefan to release her.

There was a flurry of a mess as she tried to break free from the room, but something invisible kept her from going any further. Much like vampires being unable to enter the house of the living if they have not been invited in. She screamed in anger.

"Katarina Petrova, why don't you sit down?" I said standing before her.

She froze and her eyes widened. She didn't recognize me. "How do you know my name?"

"Because, darling, I knew you when you were human," I smiled at her, flashing my teeth. "Rosalina Moore, wife of Elijah Mikaelson." I extended my hand to her. I felt the entire room, including Katarina, freeze at the mention of his name, but I didn't dare look around. I didn't want to see Damon's face.

"What...What are you doing here?" her eyes flitted around, trying to find a way to escape.

"I've been hunting you, Katarina, ever since you fled the castle of my husband. You left with something very dear of mine and I was hoping you'd pay for it with your life. And also, you owe this man your heart and a sincere and heartfelt apology." I extended my arm to Damon, who was standing beside me.

"Damon Salvatore!" She lunged at him, trying to kiss him. He shoved her off from him with such a force she caved in my wall.

"I'll have to fix that," he said to me. Then he went and dragged Katarina back in front of me.

"What did I take from you?" she screamed.

"The heart of my husband," I said, then I pushed Damon out of the way and grabbed her, the veins beneath my eyes exposed themselves and my fangs slid out. When Katarina's face met mine, hers was the same. "Katarina, I vowed the day you fled to end your life. I will do so now. Not a single person in this room objects, and I'm the only person in here strong enough to take you without risking my own life."

"I'm not going without a fight!" she lunged at my face, swiping hard. I felt the blood stream down my face. Then I jumped on her, crashing her into the floor.

"Fights over!" I said. "Damon, now!"

Then in a second, Damon was beside me, steak in hand.

"Good bye, Katarina," he said and shoved the steak into her heart. She let out a scream, and then her body froze and darkened. I tore off her head and then Stefan and Bonnie helped set fire to her corpse.

Once she had turned to ash, Bonnie performed a spell to ensure Katarina Petrova would never walk the Earth again. Then she left. I was left with Damon and Stefan staring at you.

"So…Elijah Mikaelson is your…_Husband_?" Damon asked, looking at me.

I nodded. "Yes, he is my husband. After my human husband died, Elijah felt it was only appropriate that we were married, it was his intent all along. He refused to take away my first husband's life prematurely, so we waited sixty years to marry."

"Ah, okay." Damon looked like he was going to explode with anger. "I need to go outside." And then he darted out of my house.

I sighed and sat down on my couch. My heart was breaking. I never wanted Damon to know _who_ my love was, and if he had to find out who, I most definitely didn't want him to know we were _married_. I know Damon didn't give a rats ass if a woman was married or not, but I knew that to him I wasn't just some other woman.

"Stefan, what do I do?" I looked at him with desperation.

He looked at me, then decided to sit down next to me.

"I love him. I confessed to Damon today that I was in love with him, he insisted that I tell him the truth, so I did." I sobbed. "I was terrified he was going to disappear. But he knew just as well as I that when Elijah came around, Damon would mean nothing to me. I don't want to put him through what Katarina put him through!"

Stefan put a consoling hand on my shoulder. "Rose, Damon will survive. But, the only way for Katherine to recognize you was if you revealed your true self. The wife of the oldest Original vampire. Damon was going to find out who your heart is set on sooner or later, it just happened to be sooner."

I nodded. "But what do I say to him? What do I do? Or should I just forget him?"

"Its up to Damon, now, Rose. When he comes back, you'll know what to say."

"And you're sure he'll come back?" I looked at him.

"As long as Elijah isn't here, Damon won't be able to resist. He's selfish like that," Stefan said. He stood up, everything that could've been said was said.

I nodded and followed him to the door.

"Thank you, Stefan," I said as he stepped onto the porch. He turned back to me. "Thank you for helping with Katherine Pierce. And with Damon."

"Not a problem, Rosalina." He smiled and then took off for the night.

Now all that was left for me to do was to wait. So I sat in my living room and waited.


End file.
